Hailey Upton stares at her phone screen, focusing on the date, or is it the date focusing on her? October 15, 2025. It had been exactly one year and five months since she left the Intelligence Unit. Since she left Chicago, the only place she had ever called home, for good. She caught a taxi to O'Hare International Airport, and got on a flight to Washington, D.C. She didn't look back, she couldn't. She weighed her options between the DEA and the FBI, as both recruiters she had contacted before she left Chicago seemed interested. Ultimately, she settled with the FBI since she did so well on the short stint she did for them in New York back in 2020, as a "favor," for lack of better term, for her Intelligence boss and that New York team needing a loan out officer for a couple of weeks. Hell, she had done so well that they offered her a full-time position. Back then, she didn't think twice about it though, she turned it down almost instantly, even if she had wanted to make Jay sweat a little. Jay. Jay Halstead, she only thinks of him every few weeks now, or tries to anyway, usually when something triggers a memory. And the memories seem to trigger a lot. He was only her partner back then, her work partner, and her best friend. But internally, to them both, he was so much more. He had been the love of her life. And turning down that job offer is what finally gave them the push to admit their feelings and finally be together. It had been an amazing two years, with many struggles, thanks to the job they had, but they overcame it all to end up getting married. And they were happy, sooo happy, albeit for only a little while. Because Jay lost himself in that job and in their old boss' ways, and he left for a military contract gig in Bolivia to find himself again. He promised her he would come back to her, to them… but it had been just another promise in her life broken. Tale as old as time, it seemed, like a bad plot device. Today's date seems even more ironic now, as October had been the month he left. Ten months later she mailed him divorce papers that he eventually signed, after she texted him that she needed him to. At least he had the decency to still adhere to that. She didn't reach out to him much after that, or vice versa, there was really no need to anymore since their marriage was null and void. Occasional check-ins here and there, but nothing more than surface level. Eventually she stopped reaching out altogether because it hurt too much and she had to move on. She did receive a text from him a year ago, that was kind of cryptic, but sometimes that's how Jay was. It was just a couple of lines:

Hailey, its been a while, I hope you're well. Ruz says you're enjoying your new gig, I know you're killing it! I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, for everything. I don't know if we'll ever cross paths again, but I want you to know you're forever with me in my heart. Stay safe please! Love Always, Jay

She tried to write him back, but got no response. Against her better judgement, she even tried to call him back a few days later, but the number had been disconnected. She called their old friend and former coworker, Adam, who he mentioned in the text, but Adam swore he didn't know anything aside from Jay saying he was going away on a really long assignment and wasn't sure when he'd return. So that was that. Jay came in and out of her life again like a quick blip, leaving her no other option but to try to let him go, again. She did what she had to do and focused on her new life in D.C. and the amazing work she had got to accomplish at the FBI thus far. She found a great coffee shop. She found the perfect Greek restaurant that also made loukoumades that she could pair with her coffee. She realized that in Spring so many of the parks in D.C. had the most beautiful views of the Cherry Blossom Trees blooming, and it was rejuvenating getting to jog underneath them. She got through the months just fine since hearing from him, and settling more into her new life. That was until the chain of command offered her an opportunity. For a long time, an international robbery gang using teenagers, led by Greg Czonka, had evaded custody until they were finally caught by an FBI/Europol joint fly team in Budapest. The trial would have commenced a couple of months ago, except Czonka had escaped and was apparently on the war path to get revenge on the leader of that team. The FBI wanted extra agents sent there to capture Czonka and keep the head agent safe. Hailey had been called into her boss' office a week ago, getting informed that she had been specifically requested for this case. Budapest? Why would they want her in Hungary? She knew she had the experience of being a Robbery-Homicide detective when she was in the early stages of her career, but she hadn't touched much of the Czonka case as all the United States instances had been in Los Angeles and Miami. She wasn't given much choice though, especially since the bureau knew she was unmarried and didn't have children. She couldn't deny that gave her no leg to fight it, as depressing as that was. But she figured better her than her coworkers who did have little kids waiting for them at home every night. So fast forward to today's date staring back at her, October 15, 2025, as she felt another plane ascend from the second place she had called home. She hoped whatever this European case brought, it kept her distracted enough to not reminisce her past in her head while she was lying alone in bed at night…

Wesley Mitchell, Wes for short, was pacing back and forth rubbing his neck in a small office in the back of Budapest's International Bureau's headquarters. He knew it would be only minutes now before the agent he had set forth a meeting with would arrive. She'd check in, and be brought back to him in this private, tucked away office like he had requested. It had been a hell of a few weeks, well, if he's being honest, a hell of a year, and truly, a hell of a past two, nearly three years. Thinking about all of that makes this type of case seem like an ant hill and Greg Czonka no more than Mickey Mouse. But he of all people knew that was a naïve way to think. Lives were at stake, including his own, and he's starting to question his sanity on requesting the involvement of this specific agent. He knows she's highly qualified, probably one of the best. And he knows her prior experience as a detective will only enhance her capability like it did with him. But he's not sure this is his best idea, even if he is sure this is likely the best way to keep her safe. Sure, everyone is worried about him, but he has other priorities right now. He knows he doesn't have a lot of time to think about what he's going to say. Even if he's been thinking about it for the past week, but he knows he'll be ready, because that's just who he is. He hears footsteps, and he catches one of the senior agents showing his guest the entrance to this office in the window looking out to the empty storage area. He sucks in a breath and holds it as the door nob turns. The first thing he sees is a flash of a blonde ponytail, with much darker undertones, and it whiplashes him back to a memory in a bank almost nine years ago now. A day that he still thinks of fondly as the day that changed his life for the better. She's wearing a suit, just like that day long ago, as to be expected, and he watches her jaw drop the second realization triggers on her face. It's then her who is gasping in a breath.

"Jay!?" he hears her say, barely over a whisper, her voice laced with shock.

He tries to hold back his tears as he runs over to the door and locks it behind her, before whispering back himself.

"Hey, Hailey…."

[A/N: Because I couldn't NOT go there, right? This was working as a long one-shot, but I'm breaking it up into a couple parts, so stay tuned! Let me know what you think; about the story, their canon PD ending, Jesse's new character/show… all of it!]